Editing 1942 (section)

===June===
{{Main|June 1942}}
[[File: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu maneuvers to avoid bombs on 4 June 1942 (USAF-3725).jpg|thumb|300px|June 4: [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū|Japanese aircraft carrier '' Hiryū'']] under attack by US aircraft at the [[Battle of Midway]]]]
* [[June 1]]
** WWII: Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
** The [[Grand Coulee Dam]] is finished on the [[Columbia River]] in the United States.
* [[June 3]]–[[June 4|4]] &ndash; WWII: The [[Aleutian Islands campaign]] opens with the [[Battle of Dutch Harbor]], Japanese Navy aircraft carrier raids on the [[Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army]] at [[Dutch Harbor]] on [[Amaknak Island]] in the [[Aleutian Islands]], in the United States Territory of Alaska.
* [[June 4]] &ndash; WWII: [[Reinhard Heydrich]] succumbs to wounds sustained on [[May 27]], from Czechoslovakian paratroopers acting in [[Operation Anthropoid]].
* [[June 4]]–[[June 7|7]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Midway]]: An American naval victory halts the Japanese advance in the Pacific.<ref>{{cite book|last=Keegan|first=John|author-link=John Keegan|title=The Second World War|location=New York|publisher=Penguin|date=2005|isbn=978-0-14-303573-2|oclc=904565693|page=275|quote=the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.}}</ref>
* [[June 5]] &ndash; WWII: The [[United States]] declares war on [[Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946)|Bulgaria]], [[Hungary]] and [[Romania]].
* [[June 6]] &ndash; WWII: Aleutian Islands campaign: [[Japanese occupation of Kiska]].
* [[June 7]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)]]: German forces of the [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|11th Army]] under General [[Erich von Manstein]] begin renowned infantry attacks against the fortress city of [[Sevastopol]]. The Germans advance cautiously behind air and artillery support. Manstein has enough firepower to destroy the Soviet fortifications: some 1,300 guns and Heavy Artillery Battalion 833 (including a Karl-Batterie with three howitzers of 54&nbsp;cm nicknamed "Thor", "Odin" and "Loki"). Firing in support, the German 80&nbsp;cm [[Schwerer Gustav]] railway gun fires seven shells.
** Aleutian Islands campaign: [[Japanese occupation of Kiska]].
* [[June 8]] &ndash; WWII: [[Attack on Sydney Harbour]]: The Australian cities of Sydney and [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] are shelled by Japanese submarines. The eastern suburbs of both cities are damaged, and the east coast is blacked out.
* [[June 10]] &ndash; WWII: 
** Free French forces (some 2,700 men) evacuate Bir Hakeim and escape through a minefield, where they are picked up by British patrols of the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]].
** [[Lidice massacre]]: Units of the Nazi ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' and ''[[Sicherheitsdienst]]'' shoot all 173 male residents of the Czech village of [[Lidice]] in retaliation for the [[assassination of Reinhard Heydrich]]. Of 503 inhabitants, a total of around 340 are killed, including 82 children deported to [[Chełmno extermination camp]], and the remainder are removed. All domestic animals are killed and graves despoiled, the village is burned, remains blown up and the site landscaped out of existence; Nazi propaganda (which is open about the event) states "The name of the village was immediately abolished."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Nazis Blot Out Czech Village; Kill All Men, Disperse Others|date=11 June 1942}}</ref>
* [[June 11]] &ndash; WWII: German forces of the [[15th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|15th Panzer Division]] together with the [[90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|90th Light Division]] reach [[Gamal Abdel Nasser Airbase|El Adem]]. Panzer Army Africa captures the area around El Adem, and the [[29th Indian Infantry Brigade|29th Indian Brigade]], which has defended El Adem is almost wiped out by the Germans. 
* [[June 12]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: On her 13th birthday, [[Anne Frank]] receives the book that she will use to keep her [[The Diary of a Young Girl|diary]] in occupied [[Amsterdam]].
* [[June 12]]&ndash;[[June 15|15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|Operation Harpoon]]: An Allied convoy under Admiral [[Alban Curteis]] leaves from [[Gibraltar]] with 6 merchant ships escorted by the British battleship [[HMS Malaya|HMS ''Malaya'']], aircraft carriers [[HMS Argus (I49)|HMS ''Argus'']] and [[HMS Eagle (1918)|HMS ''Eagle'']], 4 cruisers and 17 destroyers to [[Malta]]. Two of the six merchant ships completes the journey, at the cost of several Allied warships.
* [[June 13]] &ndash; WWII: 
** German forces of the [[21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|21st Panzer Division]] advance from the west and attack the British tanks of the [[22nd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|22nd Armoured Brigade]]. Erwin Rommel demonstrates superiority in tactics, compressing the British armoured forces between two Panzer Divisions of the Panzer Army Africa and the Italian [[132nd Armored Division "Ariete"|Ariete]] and [[101st Motorized Division "Trieste"|Trieste]] Divisions. By the end of the day, the British tank strength is reduced from 300 tanks to about 70. Rommel establishes armour superiority and surrounds the "Knightsbridge" positions. Due to the many losses, this defeat becomes known as "Black Saturday" to the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]].<ref>[[Alexander Clifford|Clifford, Alexander]] (1943). ''Three Against Rommel: The Campaigns of Wavell, Auchinleck and Alexander'', p. 264. London: Harrap. {{OCLC|186758297}}.</ref>
** German scientists under [[Ernst Steinhoff]] at [[Peenemünde Army Research Center]] tests a 12-ton rocket (known later as the [[V-2 rocket]]) with a one-ton warhead.
** The United States opens its [[Office of War Information]], a [[propaganda]] center.
* [[June 14]] &ndash; WWII: The British Eighth Army under General [[Neil Ritchie]] is forced with two divisions to withdraw from the Gazala Line. The defenders of El-Adem and two neighbouring boxes hold out against the Germans. The South African [[1st Infantry Division (South Africa)|1st Division]] retreats along the coast road, practically intact. General [[Claude Auchinleck]] orders Ritchie to hold the line south-east from [[Acroma]] (west of [[Tobruk]]) through El-Adem to Bir El Gubi.<ref>Mackenzie, Compton (1951). ''Eastern Epic: September 1939 – March 1943 Defence'', pp. 554–555. Vol. I. London: Chatto & Windus. {{OCLC|59637091}}.</ref>
* [[June 15]] &ndash; WWII: Erwin Rommel sends German forces from the 21st Panzer Division and 90th Light Division to attack the defensive boxes at El-Adem and Sidi Rezegh. In the evening, Point 650 box at El-Adem is overrun. 
* [[June 17]]&ndash;[[June 21|21]] &ndash; WWII: [[Axis capture of Tobruk|Siege of Tobruk]]: German forces of Panzer Army Africa led by Erwin Rommel attack Tobruk with massed air support. On June 21, they penetrate a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter, capturing the port and 33,000 prisoners. 
* [[June 18]] &ndash; WWII: The SS surrounds the church in Prague where [[Jan Kubiš]] and [[Jozef Gabčík]], the assassins of [[Reinhard Heydrich]], are hiding. Kubiš is fatally wounded in the ensuing shootout, and Gabčík commits suicide to avoid capture.
* [[June 21]] &ndash; WWII: Japanese submarine [[Japanese submarine I-25|''I-25'']] surfaces off the US [[Pacific coast|Pacific Coast]] and [[Bombardment of Fort Stevens|bombards Fort Stevens]] at the mouth of the [[Columbia River]]. The fort itself is not damaged, though a nearby [[baseball]] field is destroyed.
* [[June 23]] &ndash; WWII:
** Erwin Rommel arrives in [[Bardia]] and gives the 90th Light Division orders to attack eastwards. The British 8th Army withdraws to [[Mersa Matruh]], where the Indian [[10th Indian Infantry Division|10th Division]], elements of the Indian [[5th Infantry Division (India)|5th Division]] and the British [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th Division]] take up positions. 
** The experimental early-type nuclear reactor L-IV has [[Leipzig L-IV experiment accident|an accident]], becoming the first nuclear accident in history and consisting of a steam explosion and reactor fire in [[Leipzig]].
* [[June 24]] &ndash; WWII: Units of the Nazi Gestapo, SS and Czech collaborators shoot all 33 adult residents of the Czech village of [[Ležáky]] in retaliation for the presence of a Czech resistance operative in the aftermath of the [[assassination of Reinhard Heydrich]]. 11 children are deported to [[Chełmno extermination camp]] and gassed. The village is demolished and will never be rebuilt. Nazi propaganda openly announces the event on June 26.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gerwarth|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Gerwarth|year=2011|title=Hitler's Hangman: the life of Heydrich|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, CT|isbn=978-0-300-11575-8}}</ref>
* [[June 26]]&ndash;[[June 29|29]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Mersa Matruh]]: German forces of the Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel pursues the Eighth Army as it retreats into Egypt. On June 28, the fortress port of Mersa Matruh and more than 6,000 prisoners are captured, along with plenty of supplies and equipment.
* [[June 27]] &ndash; WWII: Allied [[Convoy PQ 17]] sails from [[Iceland]], with 35 merchant ships and 3 passenger ships that have been refitted for rescuing the crews of torpedoed ships. There are also one tanker, 6 destroyers and 13 smaller ships for close escort. The convoy is destined for the Soviet port of [[Arkhangelsk|Archangelsk]].
* [[June 28]] &ndash; WWII: [[Case Blue|Operation Blue]]: German forces of [[Army Group South]] under Generalfeldmarschall [[Fedor von Bock]] drive to [[Volgograd|Stalingrad]] and the [[Baku]] oil fields. Spearheads of the [[4th Panzer Army]] under General [[Hermann Hoth]] drive towards [[Voronezh]], advancing nearly 50&nbsp;km on day one. They crossed two rivers and cut the link one between the Soviet 13th and 40th armies.
* [[June 30]] &ndash; WWII: 
** German forces of the 11th Army under General Erich von Manstein take Sevastopol, although fighting rages until July 4. The city is evacuated by the Soviets, some 90,000 prisoners are taken and von Manstein is promoted to Field Marshal.
** German forces of Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel approach the [[El-Alamein|Alamein]] positions, only 106&nbsp;km from [[Alexandria]]. The Axis forces are exhausted and Rommel has supply problems, because the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] attacks his supply lines.